Ahead of his Octagon return next month at UFC 285, former two-time light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones still remains somewhat of a decent betting favorite to hand former interim heavyweight champion, Ciryl Gane just his second professional loss – in the former’s much-anticipated return to combat sports.
Slated to make his first Octagon walk since February 2020, Rochester native, Jones has been sidelined since he handed multiple-time title chaser, Dominick Reyes, where he managed to narrowly defeat the Hesperia native in a close, debated unanimous decision victory.
Vacating his undisputed light heavyweight crown in August of that year, Jones was expected to make an immediate move to the promotion’s heavyweight division, however, a Las Vegas arrest paired with a strict training regiment derailed plans for a title offing with former champion, Francis Ngannou.
However, following Cameroon puncher, Ngannou’s official departure from the UFC back in January, Jones was then booked to headline UFC 285 on March 5. against soon-to-be common-foe, Gane, with the two vying for the vacant heavyweight title.
And ahead of the matchup, Jones remains a distinct betting favorite as high as -160 to land the heavyweight championship at UFC 285, with dynamic French striker, Gane sat currently as an underdog at +140. Betting on fights can be utilized across several markets both online and in person, with vulkanbet registration available.
To find Jones’ most recent occasion where he both opened and eventually closed as a betting underdog, you would have to back to his UFC debut and sophomore outings against Andre Gusmao, and the late, Stephen Bonnar – defeating both to boot.
As for Gane, the Factory MMA Paris staple and Fernand Lopez student has closed as a betting favorite himself in each of his Octagon victories – as well as in his first professional loss to the above-mentioned, Ngannou, albeit narrowly.
Rebounding from his heavyweight title unification loss to the Batié native, Gane stopped fan-favorite knockout striker, Tai Tuivasa with an eventual third round strikes in the promotion’s inaugural venture to France at UFC Fight Night Paris.
With the victory – which earned both Gane and Tuivasa Fight of the Night honors, the former retained his status as the number one ranked heavyweight contender, ahead of his vacant title matchup with Jones next month.
Successfully lodging three defenses of his light heavyweight crown before this impending move to heavyweight during his second reign over the 205lbs ranks, Jones was fortunate to defeat both Reyes, and the aforementioned, Thiago Santos in decision wins – after securing a comfortable retention with a triumph over Anthony Smith.
En route to his eventual interim UFC heavyweight title victory against promotional knockout kingpin, Derrick Lewis back in August 2021, landed impressive triumphs over the likes of Junior dos Santos, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and Alexander Volkov – displaying tremendous striking throughout.
Tipped to hand Jones a considerable challenge at the heavyweight limit for his division berth, despite sitting currently as a betting underdog, Gane has been picked by many within the community, however, to potentially cause an upset and issue Jones his first legitimate professional blemish.